15 women professionals term menstrual leave policy ‘benevolent sexism’, move Karnataka High Court

Terming Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy as “benevolent sexism”, 15 women professionals, working in senior managerial positions in various private companies, have moved the High Court of Karnataka opposing the policy and questioning the legality of the State government’s November 2025 notification mandating one day of paid menstrual leave per month for women employees aged 18 to 52.

The petition has been tagged along with petitions filed by the Karnataka Employers’ Association and the Bangalore Hotels’ Association challenging the legality of the policy, which are pending adjudication before the court.